Toledo VisitationSaint Francis de Sales and Martin, Saint Francis develops Sign Language for His Deaf Servant
(especially for Fr Depcik, OSFS and the deaf community)
The feast of St Francis de Sales is January 24th. Besides being the patron saint of journalists, he is also the patron saint of the deaf. We share the story of his relationship with Martin who was dear. Saint Francis de Sales invented a kind of sign language so that they could communicate.
“. . . among all the domestics of this holy prelate there was one towards whom the saint’s kindness was manifested in a most touching manner; this was a poor deaf [servant] named Martin, whom Francis had met at La Roche while preaching there in the Lent of 1605 and whom he himself had prepared for his Easter Communion. On his return to Annecy he continued to instruct him and with such success that [Martin] acquired not only a knowledge of the mysteries of faith and the laws of morality, but he could express by signs good and evil thoughts of the mind, perfect and imperfect consent of the will and the difference between mortal and venial sin. . . . When he desired to go to confession, he would enter the bishop’s room, lead him into the chapel, make a motion to all who happened to be there to leave and then close all the doors and window; finally he would kneel down and by signs tell what he had done wrong, all the time weeping and striking his breast. The saintly confessor would mingle his tears with those of his penitent and exhort him by signs to lead a holy life and to have confidence in God. When he approached the altar for Communion his respect and devotion were a source of edification for all who saw him. . . . His affection for the holy bishop grew stronger year by year, so that at the death of St Francis his devoted servant nearly died of grief. He was fairly beside himself with anguish and he refused to be comforted; never did child weep more bitterly at the loss of father or mother.” From The Spirit of St Francis de Sales by the Curé of Saint Sulpice.
My 2 month old granddaughter was diagnosed with severe hearing loss Please pray for her in your prayers so that maybe with the help of God she will have have some hearing.I have faith in God’s will.
God will take care of your daughter, and I know that she will be fine. You can learn sign language. I have Deaf family, and they have a college education and doing great. National Association of the Deaf has a lot of tools to guide you in raising your beautiful daughter. I know Deaf can do anything.
V+J! We hold her in prayer, Anthony. May our blessed Mother keep all of you in her Immaculate Heart.
We had a daughter born with normal hearing. She got sick when she was 2 and a half. Because of the medication her hearing nerves got damaged and she had severe hearing loss = deaf. We prayed for a miracle until one day our daughter asked us why we are praying for her to hear. She told us that she is deaf and certainly a miracle will be nice but she told us that with us praying for her to hear is wonderful but it also indirectly tells her that she is “broken” and not normal and that we are praying for a “fix” for her. She said it is better for us to accept her deafness and work with what we have been given. It is certainly hard for us to accept what she was saying but after the initial shock it dawned on us that she was right. We don’t need to give up our hopes for a miracle but we started focusing on how to work with her deafness. It made her a much happier person knowing that we accept her as she is. We are taking classes now to learn American Sign Language. It is not easy to learn at our age but we are doing it because we love her dearly. I am not suggesting to lose hope but to start taking steps to help her grow both physically and spiritually. We are also trying to encourage deacons priests and seminarians to learn ASL because from data I have found. The deaf because they can’t “hear” the Good News have been a community that has not been ministered to. Only 2% of the deaf community has a relationship with Jesus Christ. There is a need for people like us who have deaf family and friends to help find ways to minister to them. We have started on our own little ways and we are also asking the deaf community for their ideas too. Would be happy to share with whoever is interested.
So perfectly stated Nancy. The majority of children with hearing loss or deafness are born into families that have never experienced deafness before. The natural response for those who can hear is to “fix” what they perceive as broken. Your daughter is amazing. She sees her value as God has made her – even from the effects of experiencing hearing loss as a young child. Your desire and will to meet her in her visual world will always BE a constant source of strength and bonding for you and your husband whereas focusing on “sound” will only ever be a chasm that can never be filled in or crossed in this lifetime. The majority of Deaf who are born into Catholic families are unfortunately lost in terms of learning about the Sacraments. So many fall away totally without any faith or are pulled into the cultish practices of other non-Chrisitan ideologies.
Hello the best thing you can do for her is learn American Sign Language. My daughter was born hard of hearing but prefers to be called Deaf along with her community. My daughter is now 26 and has a BA in ASL. I didn’t learn ASL because she could read lips and talk. I wish I had, they need someone to advocate for them, to help interpret for them. Her boyfriend is also deaf and has never had a real conversation with his father because they couldn’t communicate. It makes them feel left out when everyone is having fun talking amongst themselves, laughing and they are not part of it. Because they don’t know what people are talking about or laughing. Learn it with her, she is normal and can and will succeed. Probably better than hearing people. She will be bilingual.
Well your granddaughter can still lead a happy life even with being Deaf. I’m Deaf and I go to a Catholic church with a Deaf ministry where the Mass is done in ASL (American Sign Language) language of the Deaf community. I understand that you don’t intend any harm in your granddaughter by praying away her hearing loss. I’m a proud Deaf Catholic and don’t need anybody to pray away my Deafness. Praying away Deafness does more harm than good. I hope you can still love your granddaughter even if her Deafness isn’t cured.
Hello, My name is Anne Alexis. I am a Speech Language Pathologist (Speech Therapist) at St Francis de Sales School for the Deaf in Brooklyn New York. Our school as you see was named after St Francis. We have a statue of St Francis de Sales and Martin in our school lobby. I am collecting quotes in the actual words of St Francis to do a bulletin Board presentation in his honor. Where can I get a book of quotes from St Francis and a simple story of his life that I can share. Our school goes from Pre-K to 8th Grade, and our students are all deaf and some of them have other special needs as well.
Well your granddaughter can still lead a happy life even with being Deaf. I’m Deaf and I go to a Catholic church with a Deaf ministry where the Mass is done in ASL (American Sign Language) language of the Deaf community. I understand that you don’t intend any harm in your granddaughter by praying away her hearing loss. I’m a proud Deaf Catholic and don’t need anybody to pray away my Deafness. Praying away Deafness does more harm than good. I hope you can still love your granddaughter even if her Deafness isn’t cured.